Chimera refers to a grotesque imaginary monster or an illusion or unrealizable dream, named after a hybrid monster in Greek mythology.
Chimera refers to an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts or an illusion or unrealizable dream. The term comes from the Greek mythological monster with multiple animal parts.
| Word | chimera |
|---|---|
| Date | March 11, 2007 |
| Type | noun |
| Syllables | kye-MEER-uh |
| Etymology | In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fearsome, fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a dragon's tail. She terrorized the people of Lycia until their king, Iobates, asked the hero Bellerophon to slay her. Iobates had an ulterior motive; his son-in-law wanted Bellerophon killed and the king was sure the Chimera would do the job. But Bellerophon called in Pegasus, the winged horse, and brought the Chimera down from above. The beast lived on in people's imaginations, and English speakers adopted her name for any similarly grotesque monster, or, later, for anything fanciful. *Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence. |
| Examples | Jared decided to leave the company upon realizing that his hopes for advancement were merely a chimera. |
| Definition | 1 : an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts 2 : an illusion or fabrication of the mind; especially : an unrealizable dream |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
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